Downlink control information for dormancy indication and one-shot hybrid automatic repeat request feedback

ABSTRACT

A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication are provided. A user equipment (UE) may receive, via a control channel in a primary cell, one or more downlink control information (DCI) messages that include a secondary cell (SCell) dormancy indication and a request for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback. The DCI messages may have a format associated with downlink scheduling, and fields used to carry the SCell dormancy indication and the request for HARQ feedback may have a configuration that depends on whether the DCI messages are used to schedule a downlink data transmission. Furthermore, in some aspects, a DCI message may include a field that has a value to indicate whether the DCI message does or does not schedule a downlink data transmission, to enable the UE to correctly receive and decode the SCell dormancy indication and the request for HARQ feedback.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This Patent Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/944,308, filed on Dec. 5, 2019, entitled “DOWNLINKCONTROL INFORMATION FOR DORMANCY INDICATION AND ONE-SHOT HYBRIDAUTOMATIC REPEAT REQUEST FEEDBACK,” and assigned to the assignee hereof.The disclosure of the prior Application is considered part of and isincorporated by reference into this Patent Application.

BACKGROUND Field

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wirelesscommunication and to techniques and apparatuses for downlink controlinformation (DCI) for a dormancy indication and one-shot hybridautomatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback.

Background

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth,transmit power, and/or the like). Examples of such multiple-accesstechnologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, timedivision multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multipleaccess (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency-division multiple access(OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency-division multiple access(SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multipleaccess (TD-SCDMA) systems, and Long Term Evolution (LTE).LTE/LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by theThird Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

A wireless network may include a number of base stations (BSs) that cansupport communication for a number of user equipment (UEs). A userequipment (UE) may communicate with a base station (BS) via the downlinkand uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communicationlink from the BS to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers tothe communication link from the UE to the BS. As will be described inmore detail herein, a BS may be referred to as a Node B, a gNB, anaccess point (AP), a radio head, a transmit receive point (TRP), a 5GBS, a 5G Node B, and/or the like.

The above multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless communication devices to communicate on a municipal,national, regional, and even global level. 5G, which may also bereferred to as New Radio (NR), is a set of enhancements to the LTEmobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project(3GPP). 5G is designed to better support mobile broadband Internetaccess by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improvingservices, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with otheropen standards using OFDM with a cyclic prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on thedownlink (DL), using CP-OFDM and/or SC-FDM (e.g., also known as discreteFourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink (UL), as wellas supporting beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennatechnology, and carrier aggregation. As the demand for mobile broadbandaccess continues to increase, further improvements in LTE, NR, and otherradio access technologies and the telecommunication standards thatemploy these technologies remain useful.

SUMMARY

In some communications systems, such as 5G, a secondary cell group (SCG)may be defined for a user equipment (UE) communicating with one or morebase stations. The SCG may include one or more serving cells associatedwith a secondary radio access network (RAN) node (sometimes termed asecondary node or SN). For example, the SN may be a base station thatprovides connectivity to the UE in addition to a master RAN node(sometimes termed a master node or MN). By enabling dual-connectivity inthis way, the MN and the SN may enable improved connectivity, coveragearea, and/or bandwidth for the UE. For example, in some cases, the SCGmay be configured to enable carrier aggregation to provide forcommunication in one or more bands using at least two componentcarriers, which may include a primary component carrier (PCC) or primarycell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells), primary secondarycells (PSCells), secondary component carriers (SCCs), and/or the like.In some cases, such as when an MN and a master cell group (MCG)associated with the MN have a bandwidth to support traffic associatedwith the UE, access to the SCG may result in unnecessary overhead orpower utilization by the UE. Accordingly, the MN may place one or moreactivated SCells in a dormancy mode for a period of time and mayreactivate the dormant SCells when, for example, the MN no longer hasthe bandwidth to support traffic associated with the UE.

In some cases, a base station may transmit information on a controlchannel (e.g., a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) associatedwith the PCell to indicate the dormancy mode associated with one or moreactivated SCells in the same cell group. Accordingly, a UE may generallybe configured to monitor the control channel for downlink controlinformation (DCI) that includes an SCell dormancy indication. Forexample, the DCI used to convey the SCell dormancy indication mayinclude a non-fallback DCI message (e.g., DCI format 0_1 for uplinkscheduling or DCI format 1_1 for downlink scheduling), and theconfiguration of the SCell dormancy indication may vary depending onwhether the DCI message schedules data (e.g., a physical uplink sharedchannel (PUSCH) data transmission where the DCI is used for uplinkscheduling, or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) datatransmission where the DCI is used for downlink scheduling). Forexample, in cases where the DCI schedules data, the SCell dormancyindication may be provided in a field appended to the non-fallback DCImessage having DCI format 0_1 or DCI format 1_1. Alternatively, in caseswhere the DCI does not schedule data, the SCell dormancy indication maybe provided in one or more unused fields of a non-fallback DCI messagehaving DCI format 1_1. These varying options can create ambiguity,however, especially in context with other information that may beconveyed in DCI.

For example, in addition to monitoring the control channel for the SCelldormancy indication, a UE may also be configured to monitor the controlchannel for an indicator containing a request for one-shot hybridautomatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) codebookfeedback, which is generally requested in DCI having DCI format 1_1 fordownlink scheduling. Accordingly, although an SCell dormancy indicationcan be provided in a field appended to a DCI message having DCI format0_1 for uplink scheduling when the DCI schedules data, a DCI messagehaving DCI format 0_1 cannot be easily configured to convey a requestfor one-shot HARQ-ACK feedback. Furthermore, while a frequency domainresource allocation (FDRA) field in the DCI can be set to a particularvalue to indicate that the DCI is not used for scheduling data when theDCI is used for conveying an SCell dormancy indicator, the value to beused in the FDRA field in order to indicate that the DCI is not used forscheduling data is undefined in cases where the DCI is used to convey aone-shot HARQ-ACK feedback. Accordingly, various ambiguities andinconsistencies may arise when both SCell dormancy and one-shot HARQ-ACKfeedback are configured for a UE.

Some aspects described herein provide techniques and apparatuses toconfigure DCI to carry both an SCell dormancy indication and a HARQfeedback indication. For example, the DCI may include the SCell dormancyindication and the HARQ feedback indication in one or more DCI messagesthat have a format associated with downlink scheduling, such as DCIformat 1_1, which may provide a consistent DCI format for the SCelldormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indication. Furthermore, incases where a DCI message is used to schedule data, the SCell dormancyindication and the HARQ feedback indication may be provided in separatefields that are appended to the DCI message, or one of the SCelldormancy indication or the HARQ feedback indication may be provided in aseparate DCI message that does not schedule data. Furthermore, in caseswhere a DCI message does not schedule data, an FDRA field may have apredefined value to indicate that the DCI message does not scheduledata. In this case, one or more unused fields of the DCI message can beused to carry the SCell dormancy indication and/or the HARQ feedbackindication. In either case, regardless of whether the SCell dormancyindication and the HARQ feedback indication are appended to the DCImessage that schedules data, or carried in unused fields of the DCImessage that does not schedule data, a quantity of bits may be added tothe DCI message in cases where the DCI message that schedules data andthe DCI message that does not schedule data have different sizes, untilthe DCI messages have an equal size. In this way, the UE may applyconsistent behavior to receive and decode a set of one or more DCImessages that include an SCell dormancy indication and a HARQ feedbackindication.

In aspects of the disclosure, a method, a UE, a base station, anapparatus, and a computer program product are provided.

In some aspects, the method may by performed by a UE. The method mayinclude: monitoring a control channel in a PCell for an SCell dormancyindication and a HARQ feedback indication; and receiving, via thecontrol channel, the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedbackindication in DCI, wherein the DCI includes the SCell dormancyindication and the HARQ feedback indication in one or more DCI messageshaving a format associated with downlink scheduling.

In some aspects, the UE may include a memory and one or more processorsoperatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or moreprocessors may be configured to: monitor a control channel in a PCellfor an SCell dormancy indication and a HARQ feedback indication; andreceive, via the control channel, the SCell dormancy indication and theHARQ feedback indication in DCI, wherein the DCI includes the SCelldormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indication in one or more DCImessages having a format associated with downlink scheduling.

In some aspects, the computer program product may include anon-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or moreinstructions. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or moreprocessors of a UE, may cause the one or more processors to: monitor acontrol channel in a PCell for an SCell dormancy indication and a HARQfeedback indication; and receive, via the control channel, the SCelldormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indication in DCI, wherein theDCI includes the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedbackindication in one or more DCI messages having a format associated withdownlink scheduling.

In some aspects, the apparatus may include: means for monitoring acontrol channel in a PCell for an SCell dormancy indication and a HARQfeedback indication; and means for receiving, via the control channel,the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indication in DCI,wherein the DCI includes the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQfeedback indication in one or more DCI messages having a formatassociated with downlink scheduling.

Aspects generally include a method, apparatus, system, computer programproduct, non-transitory computer-readable medium, user equipment, basestation, wireless communication device, and/or processing system assubstantially described with reference to and as illustrated by thedrawings and specification.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of examples according to the disclosure in order that thedetailed description that follows may be better understood. Additionalfeatures and advantages will be described hereinafter. The conceptionand specific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of theconcepts disclosed herein, both their organization and method ofoperation, together with associated advantages will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purposesof illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limitsof the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station incommunication with a UE in a wireless network.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating one or more examples of downlinkcontrol information for a dormancy indication and one-shot hybridautomatic repeat request feedback.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example data flow betweendifferent modules/means/components in an example apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementationfor an apparatus employing a processing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purposes of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well-known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented withreference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methodswill be described in the following detailed description and illustratedin the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components,circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, and/or the like (collectivelyreferred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented usingelectronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof.Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software dependsupon the particular application and design constraints imposed on theoverall system.

By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or anycombination of elements may be implemented with a “processing system”that includes one or more processors. Examples of processors includemicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices(PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, andother suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionalitydescribed throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in theprocessing system may execute software. Software shall be construedbroadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments,program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications,software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines,objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions,and/or the like, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware,microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions describedmay be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combinationthereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on orencoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readablemedium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storagemedia may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. Byway of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media cancomprise a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), anelectrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), compact disk ROM(CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, combinations of the aforementioned types ofcomputer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to storecomputer executable code in the form of instructions or data structuresthat can be accessed by a computer.

It should be noted that while aspects may be described herein usingterminology commonly associated with a 5G radio access technology (RAT,aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to other RATs, such asa 3G RAT, a 4G RAT, and/or a RAT subsequent to 5G (e.g., 6G).

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100 inwhich aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced. The wirelessnetwork 100 may be or may include elements of a 5G (NR) network, an LTEnetwork, and/or the like. The wireless network 100 may include a numberof base stations 110 (shown as BS 110 a, BS 110 b, BS 110 c, and BS 110d) and other network entities. A base station (BS) is an entity thatcommunicates with user equipment (UEs) and may also be referred to as a5G BS, a Node B, a gNB, a 5G NB, an access point, a transmit receivepoint (TRP), and/or the like. Each BS may provide communication coveragefor a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer toa coverage area of a BS and/or a BS subsystem serving this coveragearea, depending on the context in which the term is used.

A BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, afemto cell, and/or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover arelatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius)and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. Apico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allowunrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A femto cell maycover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allowrestricted access by UEs having association with the femto cell (e.g.,UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A BS for a macro cell may bereferred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell may be referred to as apico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or ahome BS. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a BS 110 a may be a macro BSfor a macro cell 102 a, a BS 110 b may be a pico BS for a pico cell 102b, and a BS 110 c may be a femto BS for a femto cell 102 c. A BS maysupport one or multiple (e.g., three) cells. The terms “eNB”, “basestation”, “5G BS”, “gNB”, “TRP”, “AP”, “node B”, “5G NB”, and “cell” maybe used interchangeably herein.

In some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and thegeographic area of the cell may move according to the location of amobile BS. In some examples, the BSs may be interconnected to oneanother and/or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) inthe wireless network 100 through various types of backhaul interfacessuch as a direct physical connection, a virtual network, and/or the likeusing any suitable transport network.

Wireless network 100 may also include relay stations. A relay station isan entity that can receive a transmission of data from an upstreamstation (e.g., a BS or a UE) and send a transmission of the data to adownstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station may also be aUE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown inFIG. 1, a relay BS 110 d may communicate with macro BS 110 a and a UE120 d in order to facilitate communication between BS 110 a and UE 120d. A relay BS may also be referred to as a relay station, a relay basestation, a relay, and/or the like.

Wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes BSs ofdifferent types, e.g., macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, relay BSs, and/orthe like. These different types of BSs may have different transmit powerlevels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interferencein wireless network 100. For example, macro BSs may have a high transmitpower level (e.g., 5 to 40 watts) whereas pico BSs, femto BSs, and relayBSs may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts).

A network controller 130 may couple to a set of BSs and may providecoordination and control for these BSs. Network controller 130 maycommunicate with the BSs via a backhaul. The BSs may also communicatewith one another, e.g., directly or indirectly via a wireless orwireline backhaul.

UEs 120 (e.g., 120 a, 120 b, 120 c) may be dispersed throughout wirelessnetwork 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also bereferred to as an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, asubscriber unit, a station, and/or the like. A UE may be a cellularphone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), awireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, alaptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station,a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, anultrabook, a medical device or equipment, a biometric sensor/device, awearable device (a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smartwrist band, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring, a smart bracelet)), anentertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satelliteradio), a vehicular component or sensor, a smart meter/sensor,industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device,or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via awireless or wired medium.

Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) or evolvedor enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC and eMTC UEsinclude, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters,monitors, location tags, and/or the like, that may communicate with abase station, another device (e.g., remote device), or some otherentity. A wireless node may provide, for example, connectivity for or toa network (e.g., a wide area network such as Internet or a cellularnetwork) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may beconsidered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and/or may be implementedas NB-IoT (narrowband internet of things) devices. Some UEs may beconsidered a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). UE 120 may be includedinside a housing that houses components of UE 120, such as processorcomponents, memory components, and/or the like.

In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a givengeographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular RAT andmay operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may also be referred to asa radio technology, an air interface, and/or the like. A frequency mayalso be referred to as a carrier, a frequency channel, and/or the like.Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area inorder to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs.In some cases, 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled, whereina scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) allocates resources forcommunication among some or all devices and equipment within thescheduling entity's service area or cell. Within the present disclosure,as discussed further below, the scheduling entity may be responsible forscheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one ormore subordinate entities. That is, for scheduled communication,subordinate entities utilize resources allocated by the schedulingentity.

Base stations are not the only entities that may function as ascheduling entity. That is, in some examples, a UE may function as ascheduling entity, scheduling resources for one or more subordinateentities (e.g., one or more other UEs). In this example, the UE isfunctioning as a scheduling entity, and other UEs utilize resourcesscheduled by the UE for wireless communication. A UE may function as ascheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network, and/or in a meshnetwork. In a mesh network example, UEs may optionally communicatedirectly with one another in addition to communicating with thescheduling entity.

Thus, in a wireless communication network with a scheduled access totime-frequency resources and having a cellular configuration, a P2Pconfiguration, and a mesh configuration, a scheduling entity and one ormore subordinate entities may communicate utilizing the scheduledresources.

Devices of wireless network 100 may communicate using theelectromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided based on frequency orwavelength into various classes, bands, channels, and/or the like. Forexample, devices of wireless network 100 may communicate using anoperating band having a first frequency range (FR1), which may span from410 MHz to 7.125 GHz, and/or may communicate using an operating bandhaving a second frequency range (FR2), which may span from 24.25 GHz to52.6 GHz. The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are sometimes referred toas mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, FR1 is often referred to as a “sub-6 GHz” band. Similarly, FR2 isoften referred to as a “millimeter wave” band despite being differentfrom the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) which isidentified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a“millimeter wave” band. Thus, unless specifically stated otherwise, itshould be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like, if usedherein, may broadly represent frequencies less than 6 GHz, frequencieswithin FR1, and/or mid-band frequencies (e.g., greater than 7.125 GHz).Similarly, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understoodthat the term “millimeter wave” or the like, if used herein, may broadlyrepresent frequencies within the EHF band, frequencies within FR2,and/or mid-band frequencies (e.g., less than 24.25 GHz). It iscontemplated that the frequencies included in FR1 and FR2 may bemodified, and techniques described herein are applicable to thosemodified frequency ranges.

In some cases, UEs 120 may communicate in a dual-connectivity mode, acarrier aggregation mode, and/or the like, which may include a primarycell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells) that areassociated with the same BS 110 or different BSs 110. In some aspects, aBS 110 may use the PCell to transmit control signaling related to theSCell(s). For example, in some aspects, the control signaling mayinclude downlink control information (DCI) that includes an SCelldormancy indicator to identify one or more SCells that are operating ina dormancy mode. Additionally, in some cases, the DCI may include arequest for one-shot hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)acknowledgement (ACK) codebook feedback, such as when the UEcommunicates with one or more SCells in an unlicensed spectrum. In someaspects, when the DCI includes the SCell dormancy indicator and triggersone-shot HARQ-ACK codebook feedback, the BS 110 may determine a formatfor the DCI and configure one or more DCI messages to include fields forthe SCell dormancy indicator and the request for HARQ-ACK feedback. Forexample, the SCell dormancy indicator and the request for HARQ-ACKfeedback may be provided in one or more fields that are appended to aDCI message that schedules data, in one or more unused fields of a DCImessage that does not schedule data, and/or the like. Furthermore, incases where the DCI message does not schedule data, the DCI message mayinclude a predefined value in a frequency domain resource allocation(FDRA) field to indicate that the DCI message does not schedule datasuch that the UE may know to decode the SCell dormancy indicator and therequest for HARQ-ACK feedback from the one or more unused fields of theDCI message.

As indicated above, FIG. 1 is provided merely as an example. Otherexamples may differ from what is described with regard to FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example 200 of a base station 110 incommunication with a UE 120 in a wireless network 100. Base station 110may be equipped with T antennas 234 a through 234 t, and UE 120 may beequipped with R antennas 252 a through 252 r, where in general T≥1 andR≥1.

At base station 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from adata source 212 for one or more UEs, may select a modulation and codingscheme (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on channel qualityindicators (CQIs) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode andmodulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCSselected for the UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Transmitprocessor 220 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-staticresource partitioning information (SRPI), and/or the like) and controlinformation (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling, and/orthe like) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Transmitprocessor 220 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals(e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a demodulation referencesignal (DMRS), and/or the like) and synchronization signals (e.g., theprimary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronizationsignal (SSS)). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on thedata symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and/or thereference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbolstreams to T modulators (MODs) 232 a through 232 t. Each modulator 232may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM and/or thelike) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may furtherprocess (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) theoutput sample stream to obtain a downlink signal (e.g., an RRC signal toconfigure one or more component carrier sets, a MAC-CE to indicate abeam update command, and/or the like). T downlink signals frommodulators 232 a through 232 t may be transmitted via T antennas 234 athrough 234 t, respectively.

At UE 120, antennas 252 a through 252 r may receive the downlink signalsfrom base station 110 and/or other base stations and may providereceived signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254 a through 254 r,respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify,downconvert, and digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples.Each demodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., forOFDM and/or the like) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators 254 a through 254 r,perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, andprovide detected symbols. A receive (RX) processor 258 may process(e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded datafor UE 120 to a data sink 260, and provide decoded control informationand system information to a controller/processor 280. The term“controller/processor” may refer to one or more controllers, one or moreprocessors, or a combination thereof. A channel processor may determinea reference signal received power (RSRP), a received signal strengthindicator (RSSI), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a channelquality indicator (CQI), and/or the like. In some aspects, one or morecomponents of UE 120 may be included in a housing 284.

Network controller 130 may include communication unit 294,controller/processor 290, and memory 292. Network controller 130 mayinclude, for example, one or more devices in a core network. Networkcontroller 130 may communicate with base station 110 via communicationunit 294.

On the uplink, at UE 120, a transmit processor 264 may receive andprocess data from a data source 262 and control information (e.g., forreports that include RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, and/or the like) fromcontroller/processor 280. Transmit processor 264 may also generatereference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols fromtransmit processor 264 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 ifapplicable, further processed by modulators 254 a through 254 r (e.g.,for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, and/or the like), and transmitted to basestation 110. In some aspects, the UE 120 includes a transceiver. Thetransceiver may include any combination of antenna(s) 252, modulatorsand/or demodulators 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258,transmit processor 264, and/or TX MIMO processor 266. The transceivermay be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor 280) and memory282 to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein.

At base station 110, the uplink signals from UE 120 and other UEs may bereceived by antennas 234, processed by demodulators 232, detected by aMIMO detector 236 if applicable, and further processed by a receiveprocessor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE120. Receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to a data sink239 and the decoded control information to controller/processor 240.Base station 110 may include communication unit 244 and communicate tonetwork controller 130 via communication unit 244. Base station 110 mayinclude a scheduler 246 to schedule UEs 120 for downlink and/or uplinkcommunications. In some aspects, the base station 110 includes atransceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna(s)234, modulators and/or demodulators 232, MIMO detector 236, receiveprocessor 238, transmit processor 220, and/or TX MIMO processor 230. Thetransceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor 240)and memory 242 to perform aspects of any of the methods describedherein.

Controller/processor 240 of base station 110, controller/processor 280of UE 120, and/or any other component(s) of FIG. 2 may perform one ormore techniques associated with downlink control information (DCI) for adormancy indication and one-shot hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)feedback, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example,controller/processor 240 of base station 110, controller/processor 280of UE 120, and/or any other component(s) of FIG. 2 may perform or directoperations of, for example, method 400 of FIG. 4 and/or other processesas described herein. Memories 242 and 282 may store data and programcodes for BS 110 and UE 120, respectively. In some aspects, memory 242and/or memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring one or more instructions for wireless communication. Forexample, the one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, orafter compiling, converting, interpreting, and/or the like) by one ormore processors of the base station 110 and/or the UE 120, may cause theone or more processors, the UE 120, and/or the base station 110 toperform or direct operations of, for example, process 400 of FIG. 4and/or other processes as described herein. In some aspects, executinginstructions may include running the instructions, converting theinstructions, compiling the instructions, interpreting the instructions,and/or the like.

As indicated above, FIG. 2 is provided merely as an example. Otherexamples may differ from what is described with regard to FIG. 2.

5G may refer to radios configured to operate according to a new airinterface (e.g., other than Orthogonal Frequency Divisional MultipleAccess (OFDMA)-based air interfaces) or fixed transport layer (e.g.,other than Internet Protocol (IP)). In some aspects, 5G may utilize OFDMwith a CP (herein referred to as cyclic prefix OFDM or CP-OFDM) and/orSC-FDM on the uplink, may utilize CP-OFDM on the downlink and includesupport for half-duplex operation using TDD. In some aspects, 5G may,for example, utilize OFDM with a CP (herein referred to as CP-OFDM)and/or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency-divisionmultiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM) on the uplink, may utilize CP-OFDM on thedownlink and include support for half-duplex operation using TDD. 5G mayinclude Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) service targeting widebandwidth (e.g., 80 megahertz (MHz) and beyond), millimeter wave (mmW)targeting high carrier frequency (e.g., 60 gigahertz (GHz)), massive MTC(mMTC) targeting non-backward compatible MTC techniques, and/or missioncritical targeting ultra reliable low latency communications (URLLC)service.

A single component carrier bandwidth of 100 MHz may be supported. 5Gresource blocks may span 12 sub-carriers with a sub-carrier bandwidth of75 kilohertz (kHz) over a 0.1 ms duration. Each radio frame may include50 subframes with a length of 10 ms. Consequently, each subframe mayhave a length of 0.2 ms. Each subframe may indicate a link direction(e.g., DL or UL) for data transmission and the link direction for eachsubframe may be dynamically switched. Each subframe may include DL/ULdata as well as DL/UL control data.

Beamforming may be supported and beam direction may be dynamicallyconfigured. MIMO transmissions with precoding may also be supported.MIMO configurations in the DL may support up to 8 transmit antennas withmulti-layer DL transmissions up to 8 streams and up to 2 streams per UE.Multi-layer transmissions with up to 2 streams per UE may be supported.Aggregation of multiple cells may be supported with up to 8 servingcells. Alternatively, 5G may support a different air interface, otherthan an OFDM-based interface. 5G networks may include entities suchcentral units or distributed units.

The RAN may include a central unit (CU) and distributed units (DUs). A5G BS (e.g., gNB, 5G Node B, Node B, transmit receive point (TRP),access point (AP)) may correspond to one or multiple BSs. 5G cells canbe configured as access cells (ACells) or data only cells (DCells). Forexample, the RAN (e.g., a central unit or distributed unit) canconfigure the cells. DCells may be cells used for carrier aggregation ordual connectivity, but not used for initial access, cellselection/reselection, or handover. In some aspects, DCells may nottransmit synchronization signals. In some aspects, DCells may transmitsynchronization signals. 5G BSs may transmit downlink signals to UEsindicating the cell type. Based at least in part on the cell typeindication, the UE may communicate with the 5G BS. For example, the UEmay determine 5G BSs to consider for cell selection, access, handover,and/or measurement based at least in part on the indicated cell type.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating one or more examples 300 of downlinkcontrol information (DCI) for providing a secondary cell (SCell)dormancy indication and triggering one-shot hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) feedback. As shown in FIG. 3, example(s) 300 may includea UE 305 communicating with one or more base stations 310 providing aprimary cell (PCell) and one or more SCells in a cell group, which cangenerally include up to 15 SCells. In some aspects, the PCell and theone or more SCells may be provided by a single base station 110, or thePCell and the one or more SCells may be provided by different basestations 110. Furthermore, in some aspects, the PCell may be a primarycell in a master cell group (MCG), a primary secondary cell (PSCell) ina secondary cell group (SCG), and/or the like.

At 320, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE may receive, DCIthat includes an SCell dormancy indication and a HARQ feedbackindication. For example, in some aspects, one or more of the SCells thatare associated with the PCell may be placed into a dormant mode, such aswhen the PCell has sufficient bandwidth to support traffic associatedwith the UE 305, in order to reduce overhead, power consumption by theUE 305, and/or the like. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more ofthe SCells may be transitioned from the dormant mode to non-dormantmode, such as when the PCell has insufficient bandwidth to supporttraffic demands of the UE 305. When an SCell is in a dormant mode,behavior of the UE 305 in the dormant SCell may be referred to as“dormancy-like” behavior. When an SCell is in a non-dormant mode, thebehavior of the UE 305 in the non-dormant SCell may be referred to as“non-dormancy-like” behavior.

In some aspects, the SCell dormancy indication may be transmitted to theUE 305 via a control channel (e.g., a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH)) to indicate a dormancy mode associated with one or moreactivated SCells in the cell group associated with the UE 305. Forexample, as mentioned above, the cell group may generally include up to15 SCells, whereby the SCell dormancy indication may include a bitmapwith a quantity of bits (up to 15) that corresponds to a quantity of theSCells in the cell group, with each bit in the bitmap indicating thedormant mode associated with a corresponding SCell. Furthermore, in someaspects, the HARQ feedback indication may include a single bit that isused to indicate whether HARQ-ACK codebook feedback is triggered,requested, and/or the like. For example, as described in more detailelsewhere herein, the HARQ feedback indication may trigger HARQ-ACKcodebook feedback for one or more downlink transmissions, in which casethe UE 305 may transmit HARQ-ACK codebook feedback that includes anacknowledgement (ACK) to indicate that a particular downlinktransmission was successfully received, or a negative acknowledgement(NACK) to indicate that a particular downlink transmission was notsuccessfully received.

In some aspects, the UE 305 may monitor the control channel in the PCellfor the DCI that includes the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQfeedback indication during certain time periods. For example, in someaspects, the UE 305 may monitor the control channel associated with thePCell during a radio connected active time (e.g., continuously whileoperating in a radio connected mode, such as a radio resource control(RRC) connected mode), or the UE 305 may monitor the control channelduring an active time within a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycleconfigured for the UE 305. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 305may monitor the control channel outside the DRX active time for awake-up signal (WUS), which may carry the DCI that includes the SCelldormancy indication. In some aspects, as described herein, the DCI thatcarries the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indicationmay schedule data (e.g., a downlink data transmission, such as aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)), and may include one or morefields to indicate whether the DCI schedules data. Furthermore, asdescribed herein, the DCI that carries the SCell dormancy indication andthe HARQ feedback indication has a format that ensures a consistentrepresentation for conveying the SCell dormancy indication, the HARQfeedback indication, and information that indicates whether the DCIschedules data.

For example, as shown by reference number 330, contents of the DCI thatincludes the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indicationmay be based on a non-fallback DCI format for downlink scheduling (e.g.,DCI format 1_1). In this way, the DCI may have a format that isconsistent across cases in which the DCI schedules data, in which casethe DCI can be based on non-fallback DCI formats for downlink scheduling(e.g., DCI format 1_1) or non-fallback DCI formats for uplink scheduling(e.g., DCI format 0_1), and cases in which the DCI does not scheduledata and/or triggers HARQ-ACK feedback, in which case the DCI can bebased on non-fallback DCI formats for downlink scheduling only.Accordingly, by using the non-fallback DCI format for downlinkscheduling, the DCI can be configured to carry the SCell dormancyindication and the HARQ feedback indication in cases where the DCIschedules data and in cases where the DCI does not schedule data.

For example, as shown by reference number 332, the contents of the DCImay include a DCI message having a frequency domain resource allocation(FDRA) field, where a value of the FDRA field may be set to a predefinedvalue to indicate that the DCI message is not being used to scheduledata (e.g., a downlink data transmission, such as a PDSCH). For example,in some aspects, the FDRA field may be set to a predefined invalid valueto indicate that the DCI message is not being used to schedule data, andthe invalid value may be based at least in part on a resource allocationtype associated with the UE 305 (e.g., all ‘1’s when the UE 305 isconfigured with a type-1 resource allocation, all ‘0’s when the UE 305is configured with a type-0 resource allocation, and/or the like).Alternatively, in some aspects, the FDRA field may be set to apredefined valid value to indicate that the DCI message is not beingused to schedule data, in which case the predefined valid value may beunavailable to use for data scheduling purposes. Furthermore, in someaspects, the predefined valid value may differ depending on the resourceallocation type configured for the UE 305 (e.g., a first predefinedvalid value may be used in the FDRA field to indicate that the DCI doesnot schedule data when the UE 305 is configured with a type-1 resourceallocation, and a different valid value may be used to indicate that theDCI does not schedule data when the UE 305 is configured with a type-0resource allocation). In some aspects, the FDRA field may be set to thepredefined invalid value to indicate that the DCI does not schedule dataand includes the SCell dormancy indication and/or the HARQ feedbackindication. Additionally, or alternatively, in some aspects, the FDRAfield may be set to the predefined valid value to indicate that the DCIdoes not schedule data and includes only the HARQ feedback indication(e.g., with the SCell dormancy indication provided in a separate DCImessage). Accordingly, as described herein, the FDRA field may be set toa predefined value to indicate that the DCI message is not being used toschedule data, and may alternatively indicate that the DCI message isbeing used to schedule data when the FDRA field is set to a valid valuethat has not been reserved to indicate that the DCI does not scheduledata.

In some aspects, as shown by reference number 334, the DCI message mayinclude one or more appended fields that are used to carry the SCelldormancy indication and/or the HARQ feedback indication in cases wherethe DCI message is used to schedule data. For example, as describedelsewhere herein, up to 15 SCells can be configured for the UE 305,whereby an appended field used to carry the SCell dormancy indicationmay include up to 15 bits (e.g., depending on a quantity of SCells thatare configured for the UE 305). Alternatively, an appended field used tocarry the SCell dormancy indication may include up to 5 bits to indicatethe dormancy mode for up to 5 SCell groups, with each SCell groupcontaining one or more SCells. Furthermore, the HARQ feedback indicationmay be a single bit, whereby an appended field used to carry the HARQfeedback indication may be one bit that may be set to a first value(e.g., zero) to indicate that HARQ-ACK codebook feedback is nottriggered, or to a second value (e.g., one) to indicate that HARQ-ACKcodebook feedback is triggered. Accordingly, in cases where the DCImessage schedules data and both the SCell dormancy indication and theHARQ feedback indication are configured, separate fields may be appendedto the DCI (e.g., a first appended field having up to 15 bits for theSCell dormancy indication and a second appended field having one bit forthe HARQ feedback indication, or a first appended field having up to 5bits for the SCell dormancy indication for up to 5 SCell groups and asecond appended field having one bit for the HARQ feedback indication).Additionally, or alternatively, when the DCI message schedules data, asingle field may be appended to the DCI message to carry either theSCell dormancy indication or the HARQ feedback indication, and aseparate DCI message that does not schedule data may be used tocommunicate the other indication. In this case, the appended field maybe configured for the SCell dormancy indication, which can have up to 15bits (one for each SCell) or up to 5 bits (one for each SCell group) andcan therefore be used for the SCell dormancy indication or the HARQfeedback indication. Additionally, or alternatively, in some aspects,separate fields for the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedbackindication may be appended to the DCI message, but only one or the othermay be used.

In some aspects, as shown by reference number 336, the DCI message mayinclude one or more fields that have usable bits for the SCell dormancyindication and/or the HARQ feedback indication when the DCI message doesnot schedule data. In some aspects, one or more fields of the DCImessage may be unused when the DCI message does not schedule data, andthese unused fields can be repurposed to carry the SCell dormancyindication and/or the HARQ feedback indication when the DCI message doesnot schedule data. For example, in some aspects, the fields that haveusable bits when the DCI message does not schedule data may include afive-bit modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field, a one-bit new dataindication (NDI) field, a two-bit redundancy version (RV) field, afour-bit HARQ process number field, an antenna port(s) field that has atleast four bits, a one-bit demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequenceinitialization field, and/or the like. Accordingly, in this example, theunused MCS, NDI, RV, HARQ, antenna, and DMRS fields provide at least 17usable bits, which may provide a sufficient quantity of bits toaccommodate both the SCell dormancy indication that includes up to 15bits and the one-bit HARQ feedback indication. Furthermore, in caseswhere the DCI message that does not schedule data includes only one ofthe SCell dormancy indication or the one-bit HARQ feedback indication,the usable bits in the unused fields may be used for either the SCelldormancy indication or the one-bit HARQ feedback indication, and aseparate DCI message can be used to convey the other indication.

Accordingly, the DCI that is transmitted via the control channelassociated with the PCell and received by the UE 305 may generallyprovide the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indicationin one or more DCI messages that may be configured as shown in FIG. 3.Furthermore, in cases where two DCI messages are transmitted toseparately communicate the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQfeedback indication, the two DCI messages may be configured to have anequal size to simplify decoding at the UE 305. For example, in caseswhere one or more fields are appended to the DCI message when the DCImessage schedules data, the size of the DCI message may increaseaccording to a total size of the appended fields (e.g., up to 16additional bits in cases where separate fields are appended for theSCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indication and the SCelldormancy indication includes the maximum 15 bits). Accordingly, when twoDCI messages are transmitted to separately communicate the SCelldormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indication (e.g., one DCImessage that schedules data and one DCI message that does not scheduledata), a quantity of bits may be added to a smaller one of the DCImessages until the two DCI messages have an equal size.

In some aspects, the UE 305 may decode the one or more DCI messagesbased at least in part on a value of the FDRA field. For example, incases where a DCI message schedules data, the value of the FDRA fieldmay be set to a valid value that does not correspond to a predefinedvalue reserved to indicate that the DCI message triggers HARQ-ACKcodebook feedback and does not schedule data, as described above. Insuch cases, the UE 305 may obtain the SCell dormancy indication and theHARQ feedback indication from separate fields that are appended to theDCI message. Alternatively, in some aspects, the UE 305 may obtain oneof the SCell dormancy indication or the HARQ feedback indication from afield appended to the DCI message, and the other indication may beobtained from a subsequent DCI message that does not schedule data.Additionally, or alternatively, in cases where a DCI message does notschedule data, the value of the FDRA field may be set to an invalidvalue or a predefined valid value, as described above. In such cases,the UE 305 may obtain the SCell dormancy indication and/or the HARQfeedback indication from the one or more unused fields that provideusable bits for the SCell dormancy indication and/or the HARQ feedbackindication. For example, the DCI message that does not schedule data mayinclude both the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedbackindication in the usable bits of the one or more unused fields, or onlyone of the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indicationwith the other indication provided in a separate DCI message (e.g., aDCI message that schedules data). In the former case, where the DCImessage that does not schedule data includes both the SCell dormancyindication and the HARQ feedback indication, a validity of the SCelldormancy indication may depend on a value of the HARQ feedbackindication. For example, the SCell dormancy indication may be unused(e.g., invalid or ignored by the UE 305) if the one bit for the HARQfeedback indication is set to a value that triggers or requests HARQ-ACKcodebook feedback. Additionally, or alternatively, the SCell dormancyindication may be used (e.g., valid or otherwise decoded by the UE 305)if the one bit for the HARQ feedback indication is set to a value toindicate that HARQ-ACK codebook feedback is not triggered or otherwiserequested. Alternatively, in some aspects, the SCell dormancy indicationmay always be valid regardless of the value of the HARQ feedbackindication.

At 340, the UE 305 may reduce scheduled activity in one or more SCellsbased at least in part on the SCell dormancy indication. For example,the UE 305 may identify one or more SCells that are in a dormant modefrom the SCell dormancy indication and reduce scheduled activity in suchSCell(s). For example, the UE 305 may schedule no PDCCH or PDSCHreception in the one or more dormant SCells, may perform less frequentdownlink measurements for beam management and/or channel stateinformation reporting in the one or more dormant SCells, and/or thelike.

At 342, the UE 305 may transmit HARQ-ACK feedback to the base station110 operating the PCell based at least in part on the HARQ feedbackindication. For example, in cases where the DCI includes a HARQ feedbackindication that triggers HARQ-ACK codebook feedback and schedules adownlink data transmission, such as a PDSCH, the UE 305 may generate andtransmit HARQ-ACK feedback to indicate whether the downlink datatransmission scheduled by the DCI was successfully received.Additionally, or alternatively, in cases where the DCI includes a HARQfeedback indication that triggers HARQ-ACK codebook feedback and doesnot schedule a downlink data transmission, the UE 305 may generate andtransmit HARQ-ACK feedback to indicate whether the DCI was successfullyreceived.

As indicated above, FIG. 3 is provided as an example. Other examples maydiffer from what is described with respect to FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 of wireless communication. Themethod may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE 120 of FIG. 1, the UE 120of FIG. 2, the UE 305 of FIG. 3, the apparatus 502 of FIG. 5, theapparatus 502′ of FIG. 6, and/or the like).

At 410, the UE may monitor a control channel in a PCell for an SCelldormancy indication and a HARQ feedback indication. For example, the UEmay monitor (e.g., using antenna 252, DEMOD 254, MIMO detector 256,receive processor 258, controller/processor 280, and/or the like) acontrol channel in a PCell for an SCell dormancy indication and a HARQfeedback indication, as described in more detail above. In some aspects,the monitoring of the control channel is performed during a radioconnected active time or a discontinuous reception active time.

At 420, the UE may receive, via the control channel, the SCell dormancyindication and the HARQ feedback indication in one or more DCI messageshaving a format associated with downlink scheduling. For example, the UEmay receive (e.g., using antenna 252, DEMOD 254, MIMO detector 256,receive processor 258, controller/processor 280, and/or the like), viathe control channel, the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedbackindication in one or more DCI messages having a format associated withdownlink scheduling, as described in more detail above. In a firstaspect, the one or more DCI messages include a single DCI message havingan appended field for the SCell dormancy indication and an appended bitfor the HARQ feedback indication based at least in part on the singleDCI message scheduling downlink data. In a second aspect, alone or incombination with the first aspect, the one or more DCI messages includea first DCI message that schedules downlink data and has an appended bitfor the HARQ feedback indication, and a second DCI message that does notschedule downlink data and includes the SCell dormancy indication in oneor more unused fields of the second DCI message. In a third aspect,alone or in combination with one or more of the first and secondaspects, the appended bit for the HARQ feedback indication is includedin a field configured for the SCell dormancy indication. In a fourthaspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first throughthird aspects, the one or more DCI messages include a first DCI messagethat schedules downlink data and has an appended field for the SCelldormancy indication, and a second DCI message that does not scheduledownlink data and includes a bit for the HARQ feedback indication in oneor more unused fields of the second DCI message.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the firstthrough fourth aspects, the one or more DCI messages include an FDRAfield having a predefined value to indicate that the one or more DCImessages do not schedule downlink data based at least in part on theHARQ feedback indication triggering HARQ feedback. In a sixth aspect,alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifthaspects, the one or more DCI messages include a single DCI message witha field for the SCell dormancy indication and a bit for the HARQfeedback indication. In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination withone or more of the first through sixth aspects, the field for the SCelldormancy indication and the bit for the HARQ feedback indication are inone or more unused fields of the single DCI message based at least inpart on the predefined value in the FDRA field. In an eighth aspect,alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventhaspects, a validity of the SCell dormancy indication depends on whetherthe bit for the HARQ feedback indication triggers HARQ feedback. Forexample, in a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more ofthe first through eighth aspects, the UE may determine that the SCelldormancy indication is valid based at least in part on the HARQ feedbackindication indicating that HARQ feedback is not requested by the one ormore DCI messages. Additionally, or alternatively, in a tenth aspect,alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninthaspects, the UE may determine that the SCell dormancy indication isinvalid based at least in part on the HARQ feedback indicationindicating that HARQ feedback is requested by the one or more DCImessages.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of thefirst through tenth aspects, the one or more DCI messages include afirst DCI message that schedules downlink data and a second DCI messagethat does not schedule downlink data, and the first DCI message and thesecond DCI message have an equal size. In a twelfth aspect, alone or incombination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, aquantity of bits is added to a smaller one of the first DCI message andthe second DCI message such that the first DCI message and the secondDCI message have the equal size.

At 430, the UE may perform an action based at least in part on the SCelldormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indication. For example, theUE may perform (e.g., using antenna 252, DEMOD 254, MIMO detector 256,receive processor 258, controller/processor 280, transmit processor 264,TX MIMO processor 266, MOD 254, antenna 252 and/or the like) an actionbased at least in part on the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQfeedback indication, as described in more detail above. For example, theaction may include reducing one or more activities in one or more SCellsthat are operating in a dormant mode (e.g., not scheduling downlinkreception, performing less frequent downlink measurements for beammanagement and reporting channel state information, and/or the like).Additionally, or alternatively, when the HARQ feedback indicationincludes a request for HARQ feedback, the action may include generatingand transmitting feedback to a base station to indicate whether adownlink transmission was successfully received, where the HARQ feedbackmay be for the DCI message(s), a downlink transmission scheduled by theDCI message(s), and/or the like.

Method 400 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect orany combination of aspects described elsewhere herein and/or inconnection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

Although FIG. 4 shows example blocks of a method of wirelesscommunication, in some aspects, the method may include additionalblocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocksthan those shown in FIG. 4. Additionally, or alternatively, two or moreblocks shown in FIG. 4 may be performed in parallel.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual data flow diagram 500 illustrating data flowbetween different modules/means/components in an example apparatus 502.The apparatus 502 may be a UE in communication with a base station 550.In some aspects, the apparatus 502 includes a reception module 504, ascheduling module 506, a feedback module 508, and/or a transmissionmodule 508.

Reception module 504 may receive, as data 512, one or more DCI messagesfrom the base station 550. For example, the one or more DCI messages maybe received via a control channel associated with a PCell, and mayinclude an SCell dormancy indication for one or more SCells, a HARQfeedback indication, and/or the like. In some aspects, the one or moreDCI messages may include a single DCI message that carries both theSCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indication, or the oneor more DCI messages may include two DCI messages that separately conveythe SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indication. In someaspects, the one or more DCI messages may schedule a downlink datatransmission or may not schedule a downlink data transmission, and afield in the DCI messages (e.g., an FDRA field) may indicate whether theDCI messages schedule a downlink data transmission. Furthermore, fieldsused to carry the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedbackindication may depend on whether the DCI messages schedule a downlinkdata transmission. For example, in a DCI message that schedules adownlink data transmission, one or more fields may be appended to theDCI message to carry the SCell dormancy indication and/or the HARQfeedback indication. Additionally, or alternatively, in a DCI messagethat does not schedule a downlink data transmission, one or more fieldswithin the DCI message may include usable bits that can be used to carrythe SCell dormancy indication and/or the HARQ feedback indication. Insome aspects, reception module 504 may include an antenna (e.g., antenna252), a receive processor (e.g., receive processor 258), acontroller/processor (e.g., controller/processor 280), a transceiver, areceiver, and/or the like.

Scheduling module 506 may receive, as data 514, information related tothe SCell dormancy indication from the reception module 504.Accordingly, in some aspects, scheduling module 506 may reduce one ormore scheduled activities in one or more dormant SCells, which may beidentified based at least in part on the SCell dormancy indication. Forexample, scheduling module 506 may refrain from scheduling PDCCH and/orPDSCH reception in the one or more dormant SCells, reduce a frequency atwhich downlink measurements are performed in the one or more dormantSCells, and/or the like. Accordingly, scheduling module 506 may provide,as data 514, information to reception module 504 to reduce one or morescheduled activities in the one or more dormant SCells, as describedabove. In some aspects, scheduling module 506 may include a processor(e.g., a transmit processor 264, a receive processor 258, acontroller/processor 280, and/or the like).

Feedback module 508 may receive, as data 516, information related to theHARQ feedback indication from the reception module 504. Accordingly, insome aspects, feedback module 508 may generate HARQ-ACK feedback for oneor more downlink transmissions when the HARQ feedback indicationtriggers or otherwise requests the HARQ-ACK feedback. For example, whenthe DCI carrying the HARQ feedback indication schedules a downlink datatransmission, such as a PDSCH, feedback module 508 may generate HARQ-ACKfeedback to indicate whether the downlink data transmission wassuccessfully received. Additionally, or alternatively, when the DCIcarrying the HARQ feedback indication does not schedule a downlink datatransmission, feedback module 508 may generate HARQ-ACK feedback toindicate whether the DCI was successfully received. In some aspects,feedback module 508 may include a processor (e.g., a transmit processor264, a receive processor 258, a controller/processor 280, and/or thelike).

Transmission module 510 may receive, as data 518, information related tothe HARQ-ACK feedback generated by feedback module 508 and may transmit,as data 520, the HARQ-ACK feedback to the base station 550. In someaspects, transmission module 510 may include an antenna (e.g., antenna252), a transmit processor (e.g., transmit processor 264), acontroller/processor (e.g., controller/processor 280), a transceiver, atransmitter, and/or the like.

The apparatus may include additional modules that perform each of theblocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned method 400 of FIG. 4and/or the like. Each block in the aforementioned method 400 of FIG. 4and/or the like may be performed by a module and the apparatus mayinclude one or more of those modules. The modules may be one or morehardware components specifically configured to carry out the statedprocesses/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to performthe stated processes/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable mediumfor implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

The number and arrangement of modules shown in FIG. 5 are provided as anexample. In practice, there may be additional modules, fewer modules,different modules, or differently arranged modules than those shown inFIG. 5. Furthermore, two or more modules shown in FIG. 5 may beimplemented within a single module, or a single module shown in FIG. 5may be implemented as multiple, distributed modules. Additionally, oralternatively, a set of modules (e.g., one or more modules) shown inFIG. 5 may perform one or more functions described as being performed byanother set of modules shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus 502′ employing a processing system 602.The apparatus 502′ may be a UE.

The processing system 602 may be implemented with a bus architecture,represented generally by the bus 604. The bus 604 may include any numberof interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specificapplication of the processing system 602 and the overall designconstraints. The bus 604 links together various circuits including oneor more processors and/or hardware modules, represented by the processor606, the modules 504, 506, 508, 510 and the computer-readablemedium/memory 608. The bus 604 may also link various other circuits suchas timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power managementcircuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore will not bedescribed any further.

The processing system 602 may be coupled to a transceiver 610. Thetransceiver 610 is coupled to one or more antennas 612. The transceiver610 provides a means for communicating with various other apparatusesover a transmission medium. The transceiver 610 receives a signal fromthe one or more antennas 612, extracts information from the receivedsignal, and provides the extracted information to the processing system602, specifically the reception module 504. In addition, the transceiver610 receives information from the processing system 602, specificallythe transmission module 510, and based at least in part on the receivedinformation, generates a signal to be applied to the one or moreantennas 612. The processing system 602 includes a processor 606 coupledto a computer-readable medium/memory 608. The processor 606 isresponsible for general processing, including the execution of softwarestored on the computer-readable medium/memory 608. The software, whenexecuted by the processor 606, causes the processing system 602 toperform the various functions described herein for any particularapparatus. The computer-readable medium/memory 608 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the processor 606 when executingsoftware. The processing system further includes at least one of themodules 504, 506, 508, and 510. The modules 504, 506, 508, and 510 maybe software modules running in the processor 606, resident/stored in thecomputer readable medium/memory 608, one or more hardware modulescoupled to the processor 606, or some combination thereof. Theprocessing system 602 may be a component of the UE 120 and may includethe memory 282 and/or at least one of the TX MIMO processor 266, the RXprocessor 258, and/or the controller/processor 280.

In some aspects, the apparatus 502/502′ for wireless communicationincludes means for monitoring a control channel in a PCell for an SCelldormancy indication and a HARQ feedback indication, means for receiving,via the control channel, the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQfeedback indication in DCI, which includes the SCell dormancy indicationand the HARQ feedback indication in one or more DCI messages having aformat associated with downlink scheduling, and/or the like. Theaforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned modules ofthe apparatus 502 and/or the processing system 502 of the apparatus 502′configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.As described elsewhere herein, the processing system 502 may include theTX MIMO processor 266, the RX processor 258, and/or thecontroller/processor 280. In one configuration, the aforementioned meansmay be the TX MIMO processor 266, the RX processor 258, and/or thecontroller/processor 280 configured to perform the functions and/oroperations recited herein.

FIG. 6 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what isdescribed in connection with FIG. 6.

It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocksin the processes/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of exampleapproaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that thespecific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes/flowcharts may berearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. Theaccompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in asample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order orhierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” The word “exemplary” is used hereinto mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspectdescribed herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as“at least one of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “A, B,C, or any combination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/orC, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C.Specifically, combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “atleast one of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” maybe A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C,where any such combinations may contain one or more member or members ofA, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements ofthe various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are knownor later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to beencompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein isintended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether suchdisclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is tobe construed as a means plus function unless the element is expresslyrecited using the phrase “means for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication performed by auser equipment, comprising: monitoring a control channel in a primarycell for a secondary cell (SCell) dormancy indication and a hybridautomatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback indication; and receiving, viathe control channel, the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedbackindication in downlink control information (DCI), wherein the DCIincludes the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indicationin one or more DCI messages having a format associated with downlinkscheduling.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring of thecontrol channel is performed during one or more of a radio connectedactive time or a discontinuous reception active time.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more DCI messages include a single DCImessage having an appended field for the SCell dormancy indication andan appended bit for the HARQ feedback indication based at least in parton the single DCI message scheduling downlink data.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, further comprising: transmitting HARQ feedback indicatingwhether the downlink data scheduled in the single DCI message wassuccessfully received based at least in part on the appended bit for theHARQ feedback indication triggering the HARQ feedback.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more DCI messages include a first DCImessage that schedules downlink data and has an appended bit for theHARQ feedback indication, and wherein the one or more DCI messagesinclude a second DCI message that does not schedule downlink data andincludes the SCell dormancy indication in one or more unused fields ofthe second DCI message.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the appendedbit for the HARQ feedback indication is included in a field configuredfor the SCell dormancy indication.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein theone or more DCI messages include a first DCI message that schedulesdownlink data and has an appended field for the SCell dormancyindication, and wherein the one or more DCI messages include a secondDCI message that does not schedule downlink data and includes a bit forthe HARQ feedback indication in one or more unused fields of the secondDCI message.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more DCImessages include a frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) fieldhaving a predefined value to indicate that the one or more DCI messagesdo not schedule downlink data based at least in part on the HARQfeedback indication triggering HARQ feedback.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the one or more DCI messages include a single DCI message with afield for the SCell dormancy indication and a bit for the HARQ feedbackindication.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the field for the SCelldormancy indication and the bit for the HARQ feedback indication are inone or more unused fields of the single DCI message based at least inpart on the predefined value in the FDRA field.
 11. The method of claim9, wherein a validity of the SCell dormancy indication depends onwhether the bit for the HARQ feedback indication triggers HARQ feedback.12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that theSCell dormancy indication is valid based at least in part on the HARQfeedback indication indicating that HARQ feedback is not requested bythe one or more DCI messages.
 13. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining that the SCell dormancy indication is invalidbased at least in part on the HARQ feedback indication indicating thatHARQ feedback is requested by the one or more DCI messages.
 14. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting HARQ feedbackindicating whether the one or more DCI messages were successfullyreceived based at least in part on the HARQ feedback indicationindicating that the HARQ feedback is requested by the one or more DCImessages.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more DCImessages include a first DCI message that schedules downlink data and asecond DCI message that does not schedule downlink data, and wherein thefirst DCI message and the second DCI message have an equal size.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein a quantity of bits is added to a smaller oneof the first DCI message and the second DCI message such that the firstDCI message and the second DCI message have the equal size.
 17. A userequipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: memory; and oneor more processors coupled to the memory, the memory and the one or moreprocessors configured to: monitor a control channel in a primary cellfor a secondary cell (SCell) dormancy indication and a hybrid automaticrepeat request (HARQ) feedback indication; and receive, via the controlchannel, the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indicationin downlink control information (DCI), wherein the DCI includes theSCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indication in one ormore DCI messages having a format associated with downlink scheduling.18. The UE of claim 17, wherein the memory and the one or moreprocessors are configured to monitor the control channel during one ormore of a radio connected active time or a discontinuous receptionactive time.
 19. The UE of claim 17, wherein the one or more DCImessages include a single DCI message having an appended field for theSCell dormancy indication and an appended bit for the HARQ feedbackindication based at least in part on the single DCI message schedulingdownlink data.
 20. The UE of claim 19, wherein the memory and the one ormore processors are further configured to: transmit HARQ feedbackindicating whether the downlink data scheduled in the single DCI messagewas successfully received based at least in part on the appended bit forthe HARQ feedback indication triggering the HARQ feedback.
 21. The UE ofclaim 17, wherein the one or more DCI messages include a first DCImessage that schedules downlink data and has an appended bit for theHARQ feedback indication, and wherein the one or more DCI messagesinclude a second DCI message that does not schedule downlink data andincludes the SCell dormancy indication in one or more unused fields ofthe second DCI message.
 22. The UE of claim 21, wherein the appended bitfor the HARQ feedback indication is included in a field configured forthe SCell dormancy indication.
 23. The UE of claim 17, wherein the oneor more DCI messages include a first DCI message that schedules downlinkdata and has an appended field for the SCell dormancy indication, andwherein the one or more DCI messages include a second DCI message thatdoes not schedule downlink data and includes a bit for the HARQ feedbackindication in one or more unused fields of the second DCI message. 24.The UE of claim 17, wherein the one or more DCI messages include afrequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) field having a predefinedvalue to indicate that the one or more DCI messages do not scheduledownlink data based at least in part on the HARQ feedback indicationtriggering HARQ feedback.
 25. The UE of claim 24, wherein the one ormore DCI messages include a single DCI message with a field for theSCell dormancy indication and a bit for the HARQ feedback indication.26. The UE of claim 25, wherein the field for the SCell dormancyindication and the bit for the HARQ feedback indication are in one ormore unused fields of the single DCI message based at least in part onthe predefined value in the FDRA field.
 27. The UE of claim 25, whereina validity of the SCell dormancy indication depends on whether the bitfor the HARQ feedback indication triggers HARQ feedback.
 28. The UE ofclaim 17, wherein the memory and the one or more processors are furtherconfigured to: determine that the SCell dormancy indication is validbased at least in part on the HARQ feedback indication indicating thatHARQ feedback is not requested by the one or more DCI messages.
 29. TheUE of claim 17, wherein the memory and the one or more processors arefurther configured to: determine that the SCell dormancy indication isinvalid based at least in part on the HARQ feedback indicationindicating that HARQ feedback is requested by the one or more DCImessages.
 30. The UE of claim 17, wherein the memory and the one or moreprocessors are further configured to: transmit HARQ feedback indicatingwhether the one or more DCI messages were successfully received based atleast in part on the HARQ feedback indication indicating that the HARQfeedback is requested by the one or more DCI messages.
 31. The UE ofclaim 17, wherein the one or more DCI messages include a first DCImessage that schedules downlink data and a second DCI message that doesnot schedule downlink data, and wherein the first DCI message and thesecond DCI message have an equal size.
 32. The UE of claim 31, wherein aquantity of bits is added to a smaller one of the first DCI message andthe second DCI message such that the first DCI message and the secondDCI message have the equal size.
 33. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing one or more instructions for wireless communication, theone or more instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, whenexecuted by one or more processors of a user equipment, cause the one ormore processors to: monitor a control channel in a primary cell for asecondary cell (SCell) dormancy indication and a hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) feedback indication; and receive, via the controlchannel, the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indicationin downlink control information (DCI), wherein the DCI includes theSCell dormancy indication and the HARQ feedback indication in one ormore DCI messages having a format associated with downlink scheduling.34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein theone or more instructions, when executed by the one or more processors,further cause the one or more processors to: determine that the SCelldormancy indication is valid based at least in part on the HARQ feedbackindication indicating that HARQ feedback is not requested by the one ormore DCI messages.
 35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 33, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by the oneor more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:determine that the SCell dormancy indication is invalid based at leastin part on the HARQ feedback indication indicating that HARQ feedback isrequested by the one or more DCI messages.
 36. An apparatus for wirelesscommunication, comprising: means for monitoring a control channel in aprimary cell for a secondary cell (SCell) dormancy indication and ahybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback indication; and meansfor receiving, via the control channel, the SCell dormancy indicationand the HARQ feedback indication in downlink control information (DCI),wherein the DCI includes the SCell dormancy indication and the HARQfeedback indication in one or more DCI messages having a formatassociated with downlink scheduling.
 37. The apparatus of claim 36,further comprising: means for determining that the SCell dormancyindication is valid based at least in part on the HARQ feedbackindication indicating that HARQ feedback is not requested by the one ormore DCI messages.
 38. The apparatus of claim 36, further comprising:means for determining that the SCell dormancy indication is invalidbased at least in part on the HARQ feedback indication indicating thatHARQ feedback is requested by the one or more DCI messages.